


Beginnings

by fell_on_black_days



Series: Her Name Was Claire [3]
Category: Devil May Cry
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Developing Relationship, F/M, First Dates, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, no beta we die like men, sporadic update
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-27
Updated: 2020-06-25
Packaged: 2021-03-03 06:07:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,602
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24399973
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fell_on_black_days/pseuds/fell_on_black_days
Summary: Dante and Claire finally go out on a date after Claire drunkenly passes out on his couch. Sequel to accidental meetings in the Her Name was Claire series.
Relationships: Dante (Devil May Cry)/Original Female Character(s), Dante/Original Character(s)
Series: Her Name Was Claire [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1622593
Comments: 3
Kudos: 4





	1. Hungover

**Author's Note:**

> Begins immediately after the last chapter of Accidental Meetings. You don't need to read the earlier chapters but they are recommended.

Claire woke up with a blinding headache and a crick in her neck. She was on what she assumed was Erin’s leather couch, an assumption that proved wrong when she groaned and was met with a different, yet familiar voice from across the room. 

“Good to see you’re still alive, gorgeous. You were pretty wasted last night.”

Claire bolted upright in a slight panic and took in the unfamiliar surroundings. She was in a dirty shop filled with empty beer bottles and pizza boxes. A jukebox sat in the corner, dented on one side, while an old TV flickered and fizzed to a weak signal. Across the room where the voice had come from sat a desk in front of a large sword that hung on the wall and framed the devil hunter she’d run into off and on these past few months. 

Memories of the night before began to filter in as her head continued to pound. Grainy images of booze followed by rain and Dante’s red coat wrapped around her shoulders hit her one at a time, ending with a sloppy and one sided kiss in the wee hours of the morning. 

Her face heated to a deep red as she cleared her throat and refused to think about the state of her makeup. She looked over to the hunter and opened her mouth but before she could speak he interrupted with a few words of his own. “Don’t worry. Nothing really happened. Just found you stumbling around out there and brought you back to my shop to sleep it off. Figured you would rather wake up on the couch than in a strange bed.”

“Y-yeah. Thanks,” she stuttered dumbly as she blinked at him. “Sorry. I should get going.” She stumbled to her feet and had nearly reached for her shoes when the fabric covering her slid to the ground, revealing his crimson duster as it pooled at her feet. She awkwardly reached down to retrieve it when his hand bumped into hers. He had somehow crossed the room before she stood and had tried to grab it himself.

“You’re fine, gorgeous. Take it easy. I’ve got coffee on. Can probably scrounge up some leftover pizza if you’ve got the munchies.” He slid the coat back on as easily as breathing as he stood back up. The leather hugged his shoulders in the way only good, old leather can. It was obvious that he’d had it for a few years by the worn seams and soft fading along the elbows. The currently empty holsters sewn onto its sides were quickly filled with a set of pistols, expertly positioned by his nimble and calloused hands which were partially obscured by black leather gloves. 

Despite the obviously cultivated appearance of the man, he still looked relaxed and laid back in an oddly intimidating way. She imagined that any type of disdain on his face would scare away the roughest of bikers and make demons shit themselves, but the smile she had seen on him in previous meetings had belayed any negative vibes he could’ve set off. Or they normally would have. This time he just looked tired. Like the world was weighing on his shoulders.

Claire felt a spike of guilt as she looked at his weary eyes and remembered the trouble she’d caused the night before. After months of catching feelings for the guy she’d gone and fucked it all up with a drunken kiss that he obviously hadn’t wanted. She inwardly cursed herself for being so stupid and so emotionally fucked that she had to get plastered to wash it away for the night. 

She unknowingly sat back down on the couch and curled her legs up to her chest, semi-damp jeans and all, when she heard him sigh and felt the other cushion dip under his weight. “Look, I could tell you were out of it last night. We don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to. I just...” he broke off momentarily to rub his face, calling attention to the start of a shadow across his jaw. “I don’t want you to feel awkward because of it. Wouldn’t be the first time a drunk girl tried to get in bed with me and regretted it when she was sober. I’m not expecting anything from you and we can stay like we were before if that would make you happy.”

Claire stared at him, mouth agape, as she blinked in confusion.  _ He _ was afraid  _ she _ would reject  _ him _ ? She came back to her senses as he moved to stand, jaw snapping shut and hand reaching out to grab his wrist. He looked back at her as her hair fell forward to cover her shameful face in his own state of shock and stood there in silence as she said, “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have pushed you like that. I wish… I wish that-” She felt tears roll down her cheeks as she desperately tried to regain some sort of composure. “Yesterday is a bad day every year for me. I like you. Really like you. And I really didn’t want to… to kiss you like that. I wanted - fuck I don’t know what I wanted.” 

She hiccuped as she tightened her grip and looked up to him and into his bright blue eyes. It was almost romantic, the way he looked back at her, like they were having a conversation with their eyes alone. Almost. And then she felt herself gag on last night’s inebriation as he grabbed a bucket that had been left ready by her makeshift bedside. To his credit, he didn’t even flinch as he held her hair back and she emptied her mostly empty stomach through a disgusting series of wretches and heaves. 

Tears of a different kind leaked out of the corners of her eyes as his arm started to shake. She looked back to see him stifling a laugh as he said, “Sorry, it’s just… we were both over here acting like edgy teenagers and then…” He broke off as the laugh escaped from his lips, pouring out from deep within his being.

She let out a small snort as her eyes narrowed at him, “Oh yeah, laugh it up Romeo. I’ll just puke all over your floor while you enjoy my suffering.”

His laugh practically shook his abs as he continued to grin at her and said, “Sorry gorgeous. Make it up to you with a date? Dinner or something?”

She tossed her hair back over her shoulder as she tried to muster some dignity and said, “Fine. But not this week. Pick me up next Friday at Erin’s. And I’m expecting something better than pizza.”

His laugh came to an abrupt stop as he looked at her like she’d slapped him. “Better? Than pizza? Shit you are messed up gorgeous. I’m starting to have second thoughts here.”

Her eyes narrowed at him further as he threw his hands up in the air. “Fine! No pizza. Got it. How’s six sound? I know a restaurant owner that owes me a favor.”

A little smile graced her lips as she accepted. It would have been damn ladylike had she not immediately turned back to the bucket to puke again and held up a particular finger as Dante started laughing again.


	2. Date Night

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dante takes Claire out on that date. And they get closer than either of them may have expected.

Claire cursed for what had to be the thirtieth time as she compared different options for her date that night. Most of her paycheck was tied up in food and rent so her measly budget had little extra space for clothes. That left her with plain black dresses for work and old rock T-shirts and grungy jeans for everything else. That normally suited her just fine, except Dante had told her where they were going for dinner earlier this morning and the restaurant involved was way beyond her closet’s pay grade.

“This is fucking ridiculous!” she screamed as she sank onto her bed. Erin looked over at her in mild concern before leaning against her door frame. 

“You know, dear cousin, you could just spruce up one of your work dresses. I’m sure it would look nice.”

Her death glare cut him off before he could get in another word. “I appreciate the vote of confidence but none of those even come close to my own style.”

Instead of giving a verbal response, Erin cocked an eyebrow and slinked over to her jewelry box, tossing several pieces on the bed next to the least offensive garment. Claire took one look at the ensemble he’d created and blinked once. Twice. Before dashing over to her shoe rack and grabbing a pair of stilettos. Her cousin let out the trademark family snort before waving his goodbyes and leaving her to get ready.

* * *

Dante walked up to what he assumed was Claire’s apartment building as he double checked the address. He’d shown up at Erin’s to find that the barkeep was told to send him over to her apartment instead of meeting her there. He breathed a sigh of relief after seeing her name on the call box and pressing her buzzer. She had barely said hello when he put on the charm. 

“Hey gorgeous, should I always assume that you’ll come up with last minute changes or are we on for that date tonight?”

She repressed a snort over the speaker and said, “Just goes to show how unlucky you are with women, Dante. Don’t you know ladies always change their minds ten times before making any decisions?”

He chuckled as she buzzed him in and told him to wait in the lobby. He had planned to give her another dose of snark but stopped as she came down the stairs. Her long hair was let loose and cascaded down her back. She wore a black velvet coat over a matching dress and spiked earrings that dangled to her jaw. Her makeup was just as flawless as it had been every other time he’d seen her but she’d swapped out the cat eye for a more conservative wing and had applied matte rose lipstick. 

His mind short circuited as he tried in vain to keep his mouth shut. For a moment they just looked at each other. As she began to nervously fidget he finally found the brain cells to say one word so quietly that she almost missed it. “Beautiful.”

Realizing the awkwardness of the situation they both blushed and rushed to find something else to talk about. 

Clare was the first to speak, saying “So how the hell did you get reservations to The Chateau? That place is so damn upscale I thought they’d kick you out for trying.”

Dante rubbed the back of his neck as he chuckled, “Got hired to deal with a demon that had it in for the owner. Poor bastard didn’t know how, but he’d pissed off a devil with attitude issues.”

“Yikes, sounds like a nightmare,” she said. “So…” she looked him up and down, “You clean up nice.” He didn’t miss the slight tilt to her lips as she said it. Or the way that her eyes lingered on various areas before she brought them up to meet his again. 

“What can I say? I’ve always got time for someone pretty as you.” He winked at her as she laughed, that little snort making its entrance again. “Shall we?”

* * *

To say The Chateau was upscale was an understatement. The waiters and host all wore the classic white shirt, black pants, and black apron that belonged in these establishments. The tables were fashionably distressed wood lit by candle centerpieces and set with white linens and pre-sorted silverware, which, from the look of their shine, may have actually been the real deal.

Dante was happy that he’d worn his best pair of black pants with a matching button down and red tie for the occasion. The Mater-di led both him and Claire to a private dining area that was shielded from other patrons by a standing screen, giving a more secluded atmosphere. 

The man left after seating them both, having pulled out Claire’s chair for her and placing a menu on the table with a note tucked inside for Dante, telling him to enjoy his night and not worry about expense. Dante tucked that away as a reminder to leave a bigger tip for their server. 

Their dinner went as plenty of dates do. They talked about everything and nothing at all, shifting from her life to his like it was the most natural thing in the world. She’d talk about weird customers at the boutique and he’d bring up his more amusing antics from different jobs. It was at the end of one of those stories when he noticed a far away look in her eye. 

“Hey gorgeous, you still with me?”

She blinked a few times before looking back at him and sharing a smile that didn’t have the same life to it as before. “Yeah, just… memories. I haven’t talked like this to anyone but Erin since I was a kid.”

Dante shared his own sad smile. He understood that feeling of loneliness. How it hurt to be on his own after the fire. And how he felt it come back full force after Malet Island. But he wasn’t gonna let their date end on a sad note. Not when he had something else up his sleeve. His eyes narrowed as his cocksure grin came back in full force and he said, “So, you wanna get out of here? I know a place that’ll blow your mind.”

* * *

Claire wasn’t sure what Dante had in mind when he had said those words, but she’d never in her wildest dreams imagined this. He’d taken her out in his old convertible to the edge of town and led her by the hand to a secluded spot off the road. Trees separated the highway from view as the moon shone down, illuminating a small lake. She felt her breath hitch as it came into view and she saw hundreds of fireflies darting about over the water like a sea of living stars.

His deep voice was quiet as he walked up behind her. “Found this place on the way back from a job when my car broke down. Thought it would be a good spot to watch the stars with you, if you’re into that sort of thing.”

She turned to see him just behind her with a blanket rolled under his arm and a cooler in hand. She nodded silently and took his invitation to sit next to him as she looked up at the night sky. They sat there in comfortable silence for several moments before she looked back at him to catch him looking at her. 

In a moment of insecurity she fell back on old jokes. “What? See something you like?”

To her surprise he answered without missing a beat. “Yeah. And she’s beautiful.”

The stars and fireflies would never tell what they saw after that. They wouldn’t whisper to another couple about how Dante cupped her jaw and kissed her. Or how she wrapped her arms around his neck to encourage him. They wouldn’t tell about how she let him slip his hand up her thigh as she unbuttoned his shirt. They surely would never speak about the way they lay there in the cool night air afterwards, happily tangled up in each other’s warmth. Or how gently he wrapped her up in her coat and the blanket as he drove them home with her sleeping in the back seat. 


End file.
